


SWSH Lighthouse AU

by Yeehawbro20



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: OT3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeehawbro20/pseuds/Yeehawbro20
Summary: Sonia gets reports of a mysterious creature interrupting the peace of Hulbury. Worried she'll work too hard, Leon sends a familiar face her way. A small task that would soon turn out to be more than what was in the job description.
Relationships: Rurina | Nessa/Sonia, Rurina | Nessa/Yarrow | Milo
Kudos: 6





	1. A Friendly Face

Reports had increasingly been flooding in, strange glowing rocks, fishermen’s nets being cut, strange melodies from a fog that rolled in every morning, and apparently, sightings of a rare pokemon. It was said to have a long blue tail and piercing eyes, a fast swimmer at that too. No one had been able to capture it, let alone get a picture. Some said it is bigger than a Gyrados, some swear it to be the size of a Seadra. As a newfound professor, she felt it was her duty to check up on the area and find out what was causing havoc amongst the wildlife and residence there.  
Sonia grumbled, packing the rest of her work folders into a suitcase. She had just gotten into a comfortable routine at her Postwick office with Hop. Since he was a new assistant and all, she was a bit hesitant leaving him here to go on this investigation. He would always reassure her that he’d be fine and could always ask Professor Magnolia if any guidance was needed. Knowing that her Gran was just a leisurely walk away to help the boy, did put her mind at ease a bit.  
“Knock knock!” a familiar voice interrupted Sonia’s thoughts, she turned to look at the door and smiled. “Oh, Leon! Whatever brings you here?”; He chuckled at her false curiosity and just nodded his head towards Hop’s office. “Heard you were going to go do some research over at Hulbury. Do you know how long you’ll be there?” Sonia shook her head. “Could be weeks, months? Heck, a year. It really depends on how fast I can find an answer to all the anomalies over by their lighthouse.”  
Leon sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Just don’t push yourself too hard looking for answers.” She scoffed, brushing his hand off. “Please, I know when to take a break, Mum.” Leon huffed, rolling his eyes. He knew how Sonia got when she became fixated on something, she’d literally work herself to the bone if she had to.  
To sonia, her work was everything to her, next to family, of course. Since Leon was taking on his new duties as Chairman for Galar, he sadly didn’t have time to go and check up on her every day now. Hop was a helping hand, but since he was going to be staying behind, Leon worried for Sonia’s health. “Hey, are you just going to stand about all day or did you come to tell me something?” Leon snapped out of his daze and slapped his cheeks, nodding. “I just came to check in, and to say my good-byes. Even though Hulbury isn’t too far from Hammerlocke, these new Chairman duties are going to be taking up most of my free time from now on. So I’m sad to say that my visits will die down a bit, but I’ll still try to make an effort to see an old friend once in a while.”  
“You better, or else I’m going to kick your ass.” They both laughed and Leon even pinkie-swore he’d go visit her when he got the chance. 

Leon got off the flying taxi, after all his attempts he had finally landed in Turffield. He had a proposition to make with a certain farmer. Leon had been all over Galar, asking any of their friends, if they could go check on Sonia. He didn’t want just anyone to go check on her though, she needed to see familiar faces.  
Kabu was busy with the new trainees at his gym, Gordie and Melody were too far, Allister was a definite no-go. Leon didn’t want to bother Opal, forget about Bede. Piers was busy teaching Marnie how to be a gym leader, Raihan was helping Leon out with his tasks and running a gym. Bea wouldn’t even give him the time of day, Victor was helping out Hop and Gloria was taking on her own schedule, what with being the new Champion and all. The only person left to ask was-

“MAAAAHH!”

Leon looked down, he had gotten lost in a field of Wooloos. They all bleated at him, how could he have not noticed stumbling upon a plain of white clouds. He heard a small gasp and turned to see a freckled man, wading through the wooly sea excitedly towards him. “Ah Milo! Just the man I wanted to see!” Milo reached Leon and embraced him, “Hello Leon! How are you? Why do you need me, what’s wrong? Did one of my Wooloos get out and cause a ruckus again?....Was it Darla?” He looked around, Leon laughed at his immediate worry. “No no, it’s actually about Sonia.” Milo’s eyes got wide, “Oh my, is she okay?”  
“Yes, she’s perfectly fine. Actually, er, I came to ask a favor about her. Do you think that, maybe, you could check on her every once in a while?” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, anticipating another rejection to his offer. “Oh sure! When and where?” Leon relaxed a bit, ‘finally’, he thought.  
“Thank you. She just got a lead to some weird occurrences over at Hulbury’s lighthouse. She’ll be staying there until she gets some answers apparently, and well, I worry for her.” Milo nodded, “She’s a hard worker, that I know for sure. So, you’re worried she’ll work herself to death and you need someone to just check up on her every once in a while, correct?” Leon nodded, his eyes huge and apologetic. The farmer smiled and agreed to take care of their friend. Leon could not have been more relieved. He did feel bad though, and apologized profusely about it being too much, since Milo did have a farm, on top of being a gym leader as well. Milo simply said there was no worry, that he had plenty of hands to help out while he was away.  
Milo and Leon decided to catch up a bit, as well as discuss and make a schedule for when Milo was to travel up to Hulbury. Even though he was close, it’d still take up most of the day walking, unless he took a Corviknight Taxi. Once they had set up a solid plan, Leon let out a heavy sigh, then looked at Milo. A bit of worry was still set in his eyes, “You can’t tell Sonia I sent you, please! She’d be so upset and you don’t need that.” Milo chuckled, imagining Sonia being upset over someone caring for her. “It’s no joke, she’s scarier than a Bewear.”, Leon said, cracking a half smile. “Well in that case, I’ll protect my hide by not tellin’ her then. Thanks for the heads up.”  
Sonia lugged her work bags out of the train station. Making her way towards the lighthouse, she took in the scenery. Children playing about by the market, fishermen yelling by the docks, people bustling about their lives. She was used to the quiet of Postwick, where everyone knew everyone. Hulbury was a bit bigger and since there really wasn’t a reason to visit, she didn’t have any friends here. As she neared her destination, she caught a glimpse of Hulbury’s aquarium. Once an abandoned gym, now homed some of the cutest water-types. Sonia knew she just had to check the place out sometime during her stay. 

Sonia reached her destination, looking out over the sea. She heard a splash and looked over the railing, nothing. She kept staring at where she had heard the splash, perhaps it was just her imagination, or a pokemon, but her gut told her to keep searching. “Sonia?” a hand was placed on her shoulder, she yelped, gripping onto the rails. She whipped her head around and looked down, “Milo?” He smiled up at her.  
“W-what are you-? Goodness you startled me, I almost fell over.” She laughed halfheartedly. “That’s what I was afraid of, I saw you just, leaning over the railing and got worried.” He fidgeted with his hat, a little embarrassed at startling her. “N-no it's alright, I wasn’t planning on going for a swim or anything. So, uh, what brings you here?”  
Milo’s eyes opened wider a bit and he looked around for an excuse. “Er, the...m-market! Yeah, Hulbury has got quite the market here. Nice to just stare at the ocean too, don’t you think?”, he let out a nervous laugh. “I suppose.” Sonia said, a little suspicious. “Leon didn’t send you here did he? I told him I can take care of myself.” Milo shook his head quickly, panicking and feeling terrible about lying. “No! No! No! I really did just c-come for the scenery! But, what are you doing here?” He played with the towel around his neck. Sonia looked up at the lighthouse, she tried thinking up an excuse, but sighed and gave up. “Well, why don’t we go inside and I’ll show you.” Milo nodded, a bit excited. He wasn’t much of a scientist, but he did enjoy learning about Sonia’s work.


	2. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After spending more time with each other, Sonia and Milo grow close. During a nighttime boat trip, they both encounter something, or someone, of legend. Is this the strange pokemon everyone in Hulbury's been talking about?

Sonia flicked on the lights, the lighthouse’s main room was a bit cramped, Milo wondered how Sonia was ever going to do any of her work comfortably, let alone live there. “Come on, the labs down here.” Sonia smiled, noticing Milo’s lost expression. He blushed a bit, embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. Sonia opened a door under the staircase that led up to the roof. Behind that door,was another flight of stairs leading to what looked to be a basement. The light was quickly fading as they descended further below Hulbury’s lighthouse. They reached the bottom, Milo in awe as he saw it, the laboratory. Ashy grey walls and dark floor tiling made Milo feel a bit glum, ‘Nothing a little colorful plant or two can’t fix’, he thought. There was an empty tank built into the wall, most likely for examining water-types, monitors were lined up next to the tank, and some other machines that Milo failed to recognize. Sonia turned on the power, and soon the room hummed to life. “So, what do you think?” Sonia asked, placing her bags on a table closest to the wall tank. “Hmm...a bit monochromatic for my tastes.” Sonia let out an amused puff, “I suppose. Maybe you could...bring..a few..?” she blushed realizing how forward her question was becoming. Milo shook his head trying to make her feel better, “If you want some flowers it’d be my pleasure to bring some! H-Honest!!” his cheeks in turn, were starting to tint pink. Sonia nodded, an awkward silence followed.  
She fiddled with her hands, ‘He’s a farmer, and grows flowers, it makes sense to ask for flowers from him right? There’s no reason to get nervous Sonia, come ON! He’s just your friend-’  
Milo cleared his throat, “SO! I’m guessing you’re here for that rare pokemon everyone in town’s been gossiping about?” Sonia smoothed her lab coat, “y-yes I am.” Milo stepped closer at the giant empty fish tank, “Maybe it’s not a pokemon, maybe it’s him.”  
“Him? What do you mean?” Sonia tilted her head to the side, crossing her arms.  
“Oh, you know the legend of the lost gym leader, right? The Cursed Leader.~” Milo said, adding a bit of a wail to his last sentence for dramatic flair. “Hm, I never took you for a fan of ghost stories.” Milo jumped a bit, “Oh goodness no, I’ve just been spending way too much time around Raihan I suppose. When I told him I was coming over for y- the market!” Sonia raised a brow, suspicion inching in again. Milo twiddled his thumbs, letting out a nervous laugh, “You know Raihan, always a history bug. He told me a bit of Hulbury’s lore.” Sonia went back to organizing her paperwork into the drawers, “Okay I’ll bite, go on. What is this “lore’’ he spoke of?” Milo leant against the tank’s safety railing, taking off his hat, as if it would help him recall his friend’s words better.

“According to what Raihan told me, that gym used to have this really powerful water type gym leader. He went up against this psychic-type trainer one day, and lost. But the leader was so unhappy with his loss, that after their match, the leader confronted the trainer, and accused them of cheating. Their argument got heated, and the trainer placed a curse on him. The gym leader went missing, and after that, the gym was abandoned, having no successor to keep it running. Some say he’s still out there, awaiting other arrogant trainers to fall prey and join him in the depths of the sea.” 

“Oooh, spooky.~” Milo puffed his cheeks a bit at Sonia’s remark. “I’m telling Raihan you laughed at his story.” Sonia fake gasped, knowing Milo wouldn’t do that, the smile of his face sold out his bluff. She looked around at her papers in her suitcase and sighed, putting her hands on her hips. She knew it’d take ages for her to organize everything herself, and since she was in town for a while, and had a friend over, she thought ‘Mh, why not?’.

“Hey.” 

Milo looked up, putting his hat back on. “Do you...want to visit the aquarium? S-since you’re in town and all…” Sonia sheepishly trailed off, she wasn’t used to making plans with people, since most of her time was spent cooped up indoors. “SURE! You mean right now? Anytime is fine really, I’d love to go with you!” the farmer was much too excited for his own good. Despite him actually coming to the market and going to the beach every once in a while, that was all he ever did in Hulbury. Visiting the aquarium would be a first for both of them.

Sonia took in the sights of the dim stadium, tanks littered the old gym, each filled with different water type pokemon. Milo read aloud the attractions on the aquarium’s map,“...Swimming with a Gyrados...Pyukumuku touch tank...Oh, a Shellos nursery!” Sonia watched his excitement grow with each thing he spotted on the map. ‘Cute..’ Milo looked up, she panicked, wondering if he had heard her thoughts. “What should we go see first?”  
Sonia stammered, thankful her worries were false, “U-Uhm..how about...there?” she pointed to a hallway, above it labeled “Bugs of the Deep.” Milo kind of shuddered, but agreed. Sonia gulped, ‘Why did I pick that one? I hate bugs..’  
A worker sped out of the entrance, almost running into both of them. “EXCUSE ME!” He said running a little faster, trying to dodge people. “Wonder what the fuss is about.” Milo fixed his hat. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah just….curious…” Sonia didn’t look away, watching as more workers ran out from their assigned spots. “Hey, let’s go check out the commotion.” 

“A-are you sure? Are we allowed to do that?” Milo looked around, as if they were going to get in trouble for even suggesting such a thing. “I mean, it IS our first time here, we're just exploring a little.” she winked, causing Milo to look away a little, “Well, we did want to check everything out-” Sonia took his hand, “Great! Let’s go!” Milo stumbled a little trying to keep up with Sonia’s long strides. 

The two hid behind a wall, they had followed the workers into a sort of back room. Sonia had pieced together that they were near the hospital part of the aquarium. Workers brought in a massive creature from a truck bed, it took eight different bodies just to place it onto a wheeled cart. The presumed pokemon was covered in a white tarp or blanket. Milo whispered, “That there must be an injured pokemon of some sorts, right? We are in the hospital area, aren’t we? I mean, I’m just guessing here but-” Sonia placed a finger to silence him, then she started to shove him slightly, “Go GO GO GO!” Confused, he complied, they both scrambled as the workers were making their way over to their location. Once they were a safe distance away to blend in with the crowd, they stared at each other, wondering if what they just saw was a hoax or not. 

“What do you suppose that was?”

“I have no clue, but whatever it was, it needed a lot of the staff to bring it to their health center.” Sonia said, looking back. Now there were employees coming out of the room, nonchalant and pretending as if they hadn’t just brought a massive unknown creature into the building. “...Do you still want to look around?” Milo said, folding up the map into his back pocket, expecting a ‘No’. Sonia took a minute to look around, “I do if you do.” That made him smile. “And maybe, we can avoid the bugs?” Milo nodded, sighing in relief, making Sonia laugh at their shared fear for the “Bugs of the Deep” exhibit.

It had been three weeks since Milo and Sonia’s visit to Hulbury’s aquarium. Sonia had grown more accustomed to her new work station, and Milo had been visiting her more frequently. With each visit, he brought a new kind of flower bouquet with him, along with a vase. Sometimes he’d add a few things like ribbons tied around the vases. While Sonia was down in her laboratory, Milo was upstairs working on the front of the lighthouse, or tidying up the interior of it.  
Since Sonia’s arrival, she’s noticed a spike in the reports of fishermen’s complaints. Their lines and nets were being cut, and as of last weekend, one of the men was attacked. The attacks didn’t just stop at the fishermen though, it seemed that anyone with a boat had a target on them. Less and less boats were being seen out on the water as of late.  
One of Sonia’s theories was that whatever was brought into the aquarium three weeks ago, must be a cause for this. It just made sense with the timeline, or maybe a pokemon’s home had been tampered with and it was just causing a ruckus. Whatever it was, it sure was causing a mess of Hulbury. Due to the scarcity of ships and fishermen, there was hardly any seafood being brought in, families were scared to go to their beach, the amount of people wondering the docks had depleted, and people out past dark had become a rare sight. The water had become a scary thing to the residents of this little seaside town.  
Sonia had made it a point to check out the ocean past dark. She was hoping to get an encounter with the Hulbury’s beast, possibly catching it for research. She could rent a little boat, but there was just one problem, she had no idea how to swim. She had read up on how, but never actually practiced for herself, she was too afraid.  
The door upstairs shut, footsteps thudded carefully down towards the lab. Sonia looked up to see Milo balancing a pitcher of lemonade and a plate of sandwiches in his hands. “Hey partner! Thought you might be hungry. Forgot the cups though, I’ll go get ‘em real quick.” he placed the snacks on a table, away from Sonia’s paperwork. “Ah, thanks partner. Here, I’ll go get the cups, you stay right there.” before Milo could even protest, she was already making her way up the stairs. 

For a while now, they had called each other lab partners, since they were the only ones who really saw each other anymore.

Milo peeked down at Sonia’s notes, he giggled a little at her tiny sketch of what the monster may look like. Big, blue,.... tentacles? He never took Sonia for an artist, he brushed his fingers over them, coming to a stop at her other diagrams. ‘Has she been...learning to swim?’ he thought. She had made in depth diagrams on how to move one’s arms and legs while swimming, including what angles to bend the elbows and knees. He covered his mouth, trying to suppress a laugh, in fear that Sonia would somehow feel him laughing and get upset. He heard the door upstairs shut and Sonia called out a small ‘hey’, Milo panicked and tried placing all her notes back into place.  
When Sonia had finished her descent, Milo tried acting naturally and leaned against the table, hand on hip. Sonia looked him up and down, placing the two glasses on the table. “What’d you do?” she leaned in curiously. “W-what? ME? No!~ Nothing, honest!” he looked away, up towards the still empty tank attached to the wall. “I know you’re lying, Milo.~”  
Milo looked up at her with a pout. He began to pour them some lemonade, “Just, er, if you wanted...I could...um..” Sonia took her glass, her heart beginning to race a little. ‘Why was he so nervous? No, that's just regular ol’ sweet Milo. Oh Arceus, what if this is a conf-?!’ Sonia’s mind began to fill to the brim with thoughts, when he finally spoke up, “I could teach you to swim. I’M SORRY I LOOKED AT YOUR NOTES! I’M SORRY SONIA! It’s just, I like pictures, and I think you're a good artist, then I accidentally saw your swimming guides...and..well..” Sonia’s face heated up, embarrassed. “I am so sorry you had to see my pathetic notes, on swimming of all things.”  
“It’s okay to have those! You can teach others, right?”

“Milo, those are for me.”

“Ohhh..whoopsie daisy.” Milo rubbed the back of his neck. “So, why are you trying to learn all of a sudden?” Sonia looked down into her glass, then her notes, and finally back to Milo. “I’m going after it. I am going to try and capture Hulbury’s beast. But in the event that my boat capsizes, I at least know I can swim and keep myself afloat.” 

“You mean you were going to go after it all by yourself?”

Sonia was taken aback, Milo sounded almost saddened by her plan. “Well I-” Milo put down his cup, “Please, don’t go alone. You saw that man’s wounds from the alleged pokemon’s attack, I don’t want you getting hurt Sonia. I’ll go with you.” Sonia blinked, “Y-you mean it?” Milo nodded. “Swimming takes time to learn, and I already know how. If I go with you, I’ll make sure you’re safe, I promise.” A few moments went by, the gears in Sonia’s head ground up against each other before finally deciding. “Okay, I’d be happy to have you come along then. It doesn’t hurt to bring some muscle along.” 

The sun had already begun to set, families were hurrying into the safety of their homes. “I’ve never been here past dark! Sure is quiet though.” Milo said. He held a lantern in one hand, and rope in the other. “Yes, I suppose it is. The guy who rented out his boat said it should already be down by the dock.” The two made their way to the boat, it was smaller than what Milo had imagined.  
“Ta-da! What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?” Sonia beamed, throwing her bag onboard. She hopped on, Milo proceeded, “Hm, are you sure this is enough? The pokemon had reports of being eighty feet long! This boat is almost thirty feet.” Sonia stopped, thinking it over. “Well, if we can at least see it tonight, we can get a feel for what our next vessel should be then. Maybe it’s smaller than what people have been saying. After all, the mind does play tricks on you during high levels of stress.” Milo grumbled, accepting her words. They started up the boat and headed out to find the pokemon that’s been causing Hulbury all this fear.

Milo finished setting up the lantern. The clouds were covering up the moon now, and it was getting more difficult to see into the water. Sonia dug the two flashlights out of her backpack. “Here.” Sonia tossed a granola towards Milo, it bonked his head and he fumbled to catch it. She giggled out an apology, and they sat next to each other. Silence waved over them, the only sound was the hum of the boat’s motor, and the sea lapping at the vessel’s sides. “Sure is a nice night. Say, if we capture this creature, what are you going to do to it?” Milo asked, looking up towards Sonia.  
She tapped her chin, looking out over the water. “Run some tests, poke and prod at it. The usual evil mad scientist spiel.” She teased, Milo patted her arm, “No you wouldn’t!”  
She snickered, “Oh yeah? And how are you so sure about that?” Milo crossed his arms, “Because! The Sonia I know is a sweetie. Even if she denies it. evil mad scientists don’t care about others as much as she does!” This made her blush a little. “W-well, when you put it like that, I guess you’re right.” He smiled, but something shiny caught his eye. He turned to the left, a splash sounded off not too far away. He thought he saw a tail. “What’s up?” Sonia asked, looking the same direction.  
Milo got up, he turned the boat towards the direction of where he saw the tail. It looked similar to a Gyrados or even a Milotic tail, but the colors seemed off. ‘ Maybe a shiny pokemon?’, he thought, it was the only logical explanation he had at the moment. “Did you see something Miles?” Sonia asked again, confused at why Milo became so focused all of a sudden. “I’m sorry, but shhh.”Milo brought a finger to his lips, Sonia nodded. They made their way towards the bow of the boat. “I saw something. It looked big, but I only caught a glimpse.”  
Sonia’s eyes widened, clearly excited, she went back towards the flashlights, but stopped in her tracks. She only let out a small yelp, what stood before her couldn’t be real, it just couldn’t. “m-m-m-Mi-Mi-” she tried stuttering out Milo’s name, but this only caused her to become the center of attention. It sniffed the air audibly, a dark soaking mass with glowing blue orbs stared back at her. ‘Hair? No it has scales. C-claws? Just what is that thing?!’ Tears stung Sonia’s eyes as she tried to back away, but all this did was invite the beast closer.  
The beast leaned forward, taking slow crawls towards her. Its size made the boat sway left and right, but it masked its movements with the water crashing against the ship’s sides. Sonia realized that’s how it must’ve gotten onboard without her or Milo noticing earlier.  
Sonia tried to identify what it was to the best of her knowledge, but even with the dim glow of the lantern, she could hardly make it out. It was huge, it had two front limbs, they looked...human. Dark wet locks splayed across where its face should have been, judging by the eyes that were piercing through her very being at that moment. A rumbling noise came from the beast’s throat, pertruding blue gills flexing with the sound. Sonia could not see the lower half of the body, she suspected it may still have been in the ocean; and for it to not be tipping over the ship must have meant all its weight was going towards the front of its arms. The eye’s pupils dilated into slits,a soft hiss sounded off as its attention snapped behind Sonia. She too, turned to look. Milo stood there, rope in hand. “S-Sonia...come over to me now..slowly.”  
“Son..ia…?”A voice slugged out from the monster that was towering over them. The both turned to look back at it, Milo let out a yelp. While they were distracted, something had wrapped around his ankles, and it tugged him overboard.


End file.
